The Range

Throughout his 87 years, Marvin Stone Jr. has witnessed the endless struggle for civil rights, both personally and as a former special investigator for the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights.

The native Wichitan says the racial injustice currently the focus of nationwide protests and news coverage isn't anything new. For KMUW's weekly show The Range, Stone recently reflected on his early experiences with police, racism, and his thoughts on the recent killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Stressing over your budget? The City of Wichita feels your pain.

On this week's episode, we take a deeper dive into the city's multimillion-dollar budget hole as the COVID-19 pandemic will likely impact revenue for years to come.

Plus, a longtime Wichita civil rights advocate reflects on the current push for change.

Spirit AeroSystems wants to more than double its defense work — a strategy that's been in the works but is more important now that commercial aviation has taken such a hit.

This week on The Range, we talk to an aviation and defense expert about why the company's goal could be doable.

We also head to Yoder, where the owner of a hardware store is keeping things distinctly, and deliberately, behind the times.

Junetta Everett says her hero is Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, helped spark the civil rights movement more than 60 years ago.

"She took a bold step, and that was leadership," said Everett, vice president of Professional Relations at Delta Dental of Kansas. "She didn't even realize it. She didn't know that she was going to be making history.

"However, she took a bold step in leadership … [and] took a stand that changed the life and added a path for so many of us."

This week on The Range, we meet a longtime Wichitan who's crisscrossed the city many times over, courtesy of public transit.

And, we talk to Junetta Everett, chair of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, about why diversity is more than a box to check off — and how companies can improve when it comes to inclusion.

This week, we meet an artist who relies on patrons getting up close and personal with her work to discuss how she's dealing with the new boundaries of social distancing.

And, we talk to the owners of a commercial cleaning service about what "clean" means during a pandemic. (You might not want to touch any more light switches.)

Jordan Harris says he started Harris Dream Clean in 2015 by buying a $45 vacuum and knocking on doors after he quit his cleaning job at an aviation company.

One client led to another, and then another. He eventually convinced his older brother, Lance, to quit his cleaning position for a different aviation firm to join him.

"(He) turned me down a few times, but he finally agreed to it," Jordan said as both brothers laughed.

March 13: That's when Sedgwick County announced its first restriction on the size of public gatherings as a way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Kansas gyms are open for (some types of) business — which gives us one less excuse to not lose that "quarantine 15."

This week, we continue our look at how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting businesses across the city with a visit to a gym reopening after two months.

Plus, we look at why for many African-American men, the choice whether or not to wear a mask in public is a complicated one.

As businesses around Kansas reopen, and restrictions on everyday life are lifted, more people are wearing masks when out in public.

On a recent afternoon, Billy Chadwick is standing outside Tad's Carryout in Wichita, where he’s a cook. He wears a dark-blue mask — something he’s diligent about.

"I have asthma, but I go to other places I see people don’t be wearing them. They think this is a game," Chadwick said. "This ain't a game."